Valley View School District 365U advances new 2012-13 budget

$274.6 million budget reflects a $17.2 million increase from previous year

October 03, 2012|By Joseph Ruzich, Special to the Tribune

Gary Grizaffi, assistant superintendent of administrative services, speaks about the Valley View District 365U budget at a public hearing last week. (Joseph Ruzich, Chicago Tribune)

Valley View District 365U officials recently signed off on a new $274.6 million 2012-2013 budget, reflecting an increase of $17.2 million from last year's budget.

District officials said about $13.5 million of the $17.2 million will be used to implement a new full-day kindergarten program.

Gary Grizaffi, assistant superintendent of administrative services, said at a public hearing that salaries and benefits account for 71 percent of the total budget. The district is paying about $10 million more in salaries and benefits this year, according to budget documents.

Grizaffi said the district — which is facing a $26 million budget deficit — is suffering due to a combination of state cuts and lack of other revenue. "I have never seen anything this bad on the revenue side (of the budget)," said Grizaffi. "We are getting hit pretty hard."

Grizaffi said the state owes the district more than $4 million. That amount is on top of $8.8 million in cuts from the state over the past five years. He said the district, which serves students from Bolingbrook and Romeoville, only maintains enough money at the end of the fiscal year to run the district for about 100 days.

The district also faces a new problem. On Sept. 20, the teacher's union rejected a contract proposal from the district, according to district officials.

Grizaffi hinted that the union may be opposed to salary issues and/or health insurance costs. "We have to meet with them," said Grizaffi. "I don't know what the problem is yet."

Parent Suzanne Hurdle told the board not to pass the budget until a teacher's contract was finalized.

"How can you vote on a budget when you don't have a teacher's contract?" said Hurdle. "It just doesn't make sense."

Board members told her they could amend the budget in the future but must pass it soon due to state laws.

Budget documents indicate that the district put aside $136.6 million in salaries this year compared with $132.5 million last year. The budgeted amount for benefits has also increased to $60.3 million compared with $55.8 million in the prior year.

Bolingbrook resident Josephine Krozel told the board in late September that the district needs to live within their means and asked them not to raise taxes on residents. She said her property taxes were $1,700 per year for her home in 1993. They are now $5,500 per year.

"Our (property) taxes are too high," said Krozel. "We have families to take care of, and it's getting hard to do. I don't know if I will be able to afford my home much longer."